Sanju Samson Completes 10 Years With RR: Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is playing his 10th season with the franchise as the team took to social media to post a heartfelt video.
RR took on Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 31 of IPL 2024 on April 16, and the franchise celebrated Sanju’s 10 years of playing with them.
Sanju first became part of an IPL squad in 2013 when KKR signed him that season but did not give him a match before releasing him. In 2013, he was signed by Rajasthan Royals and a long and wonderful story between the two commenced.
Sanju Samson Completes 10 Years With RR
In 2013, Dishant Yagnik was RR’s regular keeper but suffered an injury during the tournament. Because of that, reserve keeper Samson took to the field against Kings XI Punjab on his debut and the rest is history.
Since then, the Kerela-born wicketkeeper-batter has become the highest run scorer in RR history with 3475. He has also played the most matches for the team with 130.
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On the eve of the match against KKR, the Royals took to social media to post a video in which Royals from past and present praise Sanju and share their experiences with him.
Dishant Yagnik, whom Sanju replaced to get into the squad claims that he saw the talent in him the first time he saw him play –
“I told him to carry forward the franchise as a wicketkeeper. And I told him that I knew that after playing in the IPL, he would play for India 100 percent,” said Yagnik.
As for his influences in the franchise, team manager Romi Bhinder said that RR legends Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson played a major role in him becoming a loyal Royal, noting –
“Sanju had in mind to be a Royal like Rahul Bhai, Shane Watson and Shane Warne. That is when the colour started taking over him.
Riyan Parag, who has finally started performing at the level the team was expecting from him for years, said that Samson instills loyalty in his players and the team wants to win matches for him.
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Sanju Samson Completes 10 Years With Rajasthan Royals
“It has been six players with him, Sanju Bhaiya. He always had the presence of being an actual captain. He was always there. He was making those decisions on the field and off it. He was always a part of the leadership group. He is the captain I want to win matches for. That is the best captain you can have,” Parag remarked.
The Assamese batter then went on to tell how Sanju wears his expressions on his sleeve, saying –
“The journey I had with RR, he had the same journey for a longer period of time. Whenever I was down, whenever I was not scoring, he was always open. He has got a lot of emotions, he wears them on his sleeve. You know when he is angry, happy. I like to see him happy most of the time.”
Sanju Samson has now captained 50 matches for the Royals. He even took the side to the IPL final in 2022.
As for the match against KKR, RR got a massive target of 224 to chase. But due to the heroics of Jos Buttler, the team reached the mark on the last ball of the match.
With that win, Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals has six wins and 12 points in seven matches in the IPL 2024 league table. The team will face Mumbai Indians in their next match on April 22 in Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
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